


Put On Your War Paint

by Kateifer



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Drabble, Drabble Collection, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2013-05-12
Packaged: 2017-12-09 21:41:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/778287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kateifer/pseuds/Kateifer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Axel finds Roxas in the next life.  Axel remembers everything, Roxas doesn't.  This time, he's determined to make things work out in a way they didn't before.</p><p>A series of drabbles written for each track on the new Fall Out Boy album; Save Rock and Roll.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Put On Your War Paint

It's different this time around.

But not too different.

Just like before, you do not remember your past life – well, lives. But I do.

Just like before, we managed to find each other.

But there is a key difference this time around.

Fate was not so cruel as to deny us our chance with hearts.

We are still ourselves, not Sora or Lea. We are Axel and Roxas, with hearts.

Apparently, there is a difference.

When I saw you, I had such high hopes. It was going to be glorious, you were keeping your promise to wait for me in the next life. 

But when you did not remember me, just like before, those hopes were put on hold.

Do you know how much that stings twice in a row? It's not very polite to forget important people, you know.

But once again, our effortless arrangement seems so easy to slip into. Already the roof of your apartment building serves as our clock tower. Vanilla replaces sea-salt. Sunsets stay the same, but this time around they actually come to an end. Conversations about everything and nothing come just as easily.

It's good, but not enough.

You're not right.

Something is off. You're different from before. I can't put my finger on it, but you're wrong.

But I can fix that. I will fix that.

Nagging reminders in the back of my mind tell me that our time is limited. Don't you get those too?

Don't you ever think time is running out for us?

No matter. This time it won't. I'll fix it all. Fix you, fix our timeframe, and extend it.

We won't run out of time. I will make sure of that.

I don't care what it takes. I won't let history repeat itself.

Well, not the icky parts, anyway.

I'll fight for us, just like before. And this time, I'll win.


	2. Burn Everything You Love Then Burn the Ashes

“Axel, why do you always do this?" Roxas glared across the table at his friend.

"What do you mean, Rox?"

"You always try to 'protect' me," Roxas explained, "But in the process you end up ruining everything!"

"I don't ruin anything," Axel raised an eyebrow, "How is any of this my fault?"

"You said something to Xion and now she's pissed off! She won't say what you said, but she's really upset."

"I didn't mean to-"

"I don't care what you meant to do! She's a good friend too, Axel. I know you're weirdly possessive, but she means a lot to me too. And when I find out she's been sulking for days because of something you said to her - you're supposed to be my best friend, if you don't like her, fine, but at least try to be civil."

"I can't do that."

"Why the hell not?"

"Can't tell you."

"So instead you're going to send my other friends into fits of sulking? Good, that's constructive." Roxas stood up and stabbed his arms into the sleeves of his hoodie, getting ready to leave.

"Wait-"

"I'm not going to sit here and interrogate you while you refuse to explain things to me. Xion is avoiding me, too, not just you. I need to try and smooth things over," Roxas was out of the door to Axel's apartment a moment later, but was soon being grabbed at the wrist.

"I told her to back off," Axel explained.

"Why?" Roxas growled, turning to look at him, "Why can't I have friends beyond you?"

"Long story short; she was going to make a move. I couldn't let her."

"Make a move? You couldn't-" Roxas repeated to himself, before the idea clicked. He pulled his hand away from Axel and turned away, "I can't believe you. You moron." With that, Roxas was gone, and Axel was left to go back into his house alone.

-

Roxas - 11:50pm  
[You're still an idiot. You had nothing to worry about in the first place.]

Axel - 11:52pm  
[What?]

Roxas - 11:55pm  
[She could make all the moves she wanted, they would have got her nowhere.]

Axel - 11:56pm  
[I didn't know that.]

Roxas - 11:59pm  
[I'm not going to pretend like what you did was alright. Even if I was interested in her too, and you were jealous, that doesn't mean you were free to be mean to her. You could have done a lot of damage to something important to me, especially after the last time you pissed her off. But (Text 1/2)]  
[I would not have been interested in her. If that gives you some peace of mind. (Text 2/2)]

Axel - 12:02am  
[Not really.]

Roxas - 12:06am  
[Well, how about me telling you I might be more inclined from such gestures from you?]

Axel - 12:10am  
[That would do the trick.]

Roxas - 12:11am  
[Well, I am, but I'm still pissed off. You nearly messed things up between me and Xion because she was going to do what you weren't brave enough to do. You have some major sucking up to do before anything like that happens.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of these drabbles are going up un-beta'd. If anyone wants to offer their editing services, I would be most grateful.


	3. This is the Road to Ruin and We Started at the End

It will probably end in disaster.

Nothing about the two of us has been healthy from the start. That much has been clear as day since we met. He waltzed up as if he already knew me and threw himself into my life as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if things only made sense if we were immediate and uncomfortably close friends.

Even weirder was the fact that it felt completely natural.

It worried me even more when he seemed downright possessive. The day Xion arrived was the day he started acting like having other friends was a personal attack against him. He tolerated her for my sake, but I picked up on the less-than-subtle jabs and glares and him shifting to be closer to me when the three of us were together.

It made a bit more sense when he said he didn’t want me falling for her, because of his feelings for me. But really? That shouldn’t make it better.

It didn’t, not really. Not when it almost cost me two important friends.

And worse still, despite his possessive behavior, despite him inserting himself into my life with no invitation, despite him being moody, despite him hiding things from me, despite lying about those things –

Despite all of that, I managed to fall for the idiot.

And that felt just as natural as when we became friends (mostly at his insistence).

It feels like we’re starting at the end, though. I have a nagging suspicion that things can’t go well. Like us being friends – or more than that as the case is going to be – is only going to end in misery for us and anyone in our radius.

But, those nagging feelings apparently aren’t enough to keep us from going for it.

Because it’s midnight and he’s standing outside my house, waiting for me to let him in. We both know where this is going.

But we’re willing to go along for the ride. For now, that can be all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying very hard to connect these chapters - even if loosely. I have a feeling the next one will be out of the current plotline though.
> 
> Oh well.
> 
> Carpe diem and all that jazz.


End file.
